Gunmen shoot man eight times

Gunmen broke in and entered the home of a 38-year-old Arouca man yesterday morning and, as he attempted to defend himself and his ten-year-old son with a piece of metal, shot him eight times, killing him instantly.

The victim was Hezekiah Mark, who lived at Hillview Drive in Arouca. Police said that, around 7.30 a.m., residents heard one gunshot and within seconds it was followed by seven more in rapid secession.

When neighbours emerged, they found Mark lying dead in a drain opposite his house.

Officers from Arouca Police Station arrived and, accompanied by officers of the Crime Scene Unit and the Homicide Bureau, the scene was examined for clues.

Mark’s son was already with his neighbours and together with another relative he was taken to the Arouca station.

Neighbours were unable to say why Mark was murdered, but one man was quite outspoken.

He chided the police that their neighbourhood was a relatively difficult area to escape from and that all the police needed to do was respond to the call on time and they may have been able to apprehend the killers.

“Imagine, while the shooting was going on, people around here called the police and the police station right there and they eh reach until it was too late,” said the neighbour. “They could have blocked off some roads and catch these people and them.”

He also lamented that their neighbourhood was not one that wanted to embrace the idea of a neighbourhood watch.

The murder toll for the year to date was 19 up to last night, while last year’s figure on January 8 was three.